Letters to the editor, 1/22

Guns not only issue that needs to be addressed

This is the first time I am compelled to write a letter to the editor to make a point.

I am a naturalized American citizen since 1968, I am proud to have made the decision, to be a part of this great country. When I immigrated to the United States of America in 1961 the world looked upon our country with envy and what it stood for, the Land of Opportunity, the shining beacon on the hill.

I visited the White House in 1964 when there was only a small fence around it. Look what is there today! Our president has to live like a prisoner. Government was small, personal freedom and opportunity were available. Life was good. Schools were safe.

I grieve with the families who have lost their children in Newtown, Conn., but instead of really helping to prevent such atrocities, our government is playing politics. It is easy and may be politically correct to blame "the gun" but I believe it is not only the weapon used; that there are many other issues.

1. Why has our government cut most of the funding for the mentally ill as well as the mentally challenged and closed most of the institutions? Many of these individuals are without service and supervision.

2. Our television and media are guilty too, as they promote violence and vulgarity rather than peace and harmony.

3. The guiltiest, in my opinion, are the creators of violent video games in which killing is fun.

Fritz Sonnenschmidt

Rhinebeck

Great-grandma does not want guns in schools

I was thinking about the national gun situation which led me to remember a vacation day while camping with our four young children. My husband had shot and killed a raccoon that had been doing damage to our equipment. Turns out it was a female and her babies cried all night.

My husband never used his rifle again. This memory led me to 20 babies and four awesome adults whose parents, wives, husbands, friends and families cried all night.

If my husband was still with us I know he would join me and pray that good sense will return to citizens who listened to purveyors of fear and became caught up in efforts to place guns in our schools. I shudder to think about the effect this would have on my eight grandchildren and four great-grands. Please do think before adding more guns to our lives. I pray for all of you.

Louanna Bell

Fishkill

Questions coverage of malpractice litigation

As a current subscriber of the Poughkeepsie Journal, I'm puzzled by the continued high-profile coverage of the on-going malpractice litigation of Dr. Spyros Panos, including, "Judge clears way for civil case" (Jan. 9).

Although relevant for the 200 or more plaintiffs involved, that's less than .001 percent of our county's roughly 300,000 individuals.

'Unjust' Roe v. Wade ruling was 40 years ago

Another New Year, and the times are dark. We live in a pop culture of violence and nothingness. The government becomes bigger and more lawless as it grows. Our Constitution is being torn down and mocked. The greatest violence against human life was handed down by the unjust Supreme Court Roe vs. Wade decision, Jan. 22, 1973. A carnage unprecedented in American history followed. Forty years later the abortion industry, led by Planned Parenthood, has destroyed 55 million unborn children and still counting. Countless women have been physically and emotionally damaged. The Democratic Party won a second term for pro-abortion Barack Obama who continues his agenda "to fundamentally transform America." Class warfare continues. The unborn are classified as "non-persons" with no rights. And the elite "ruling class" stays smug, fat and happy. Happy 2013, America !

Lola Schurman

Poughkeepsie

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Letters to the editor, 1/22

This is the first time I am compelled to write a letter to the editor to make a point.